Quantaray 500mm f8 Mirror
Most Quantaray lenses were made by Sigma and some were made by Tamron and Tokina. This lens performs like a Sigma Mirror lens. It is reasonably sharp if you can hold it steady. It has the typical ringed bokeh we see from mirror lenses. Contrast is surprisingly high. While it is not a Zeiss or even a Tamron in quality, it is still far better than any of the off-brands flooding the market.




Photography Services,
Information &
Online Gallery
Photography Services,
Information &
Online Gallery
Photography Services,
Information &
Online Gallery
Photography Services,
Information &
Online Gallery
Buy Sell Trade
Call 802-259-2757
Vivitar TX 35mm f2.8
My copy of this lens was made by Tokina. I used a Minolta TX mount to test this lens on my Eos M3.
This lens surprised me. I expected it to be sharp at f8 w/ lots of Chroma. I was wrong.
This old lens is sharp enough at f2.8 it is sharp 'corner to corner' up to f11. The whole frame tightens up nicely as you climb through the f-stops.
Fringing is barely noticeable at 100% crop. Barely noticeable.
I did not test flare yet but I might guess it's well controlled.
Colors are a little flat but accurate. Contrast is consistent thru the entire aperture range.
Bokeh is a tad rough above f2.8. At f4 and up highlights form hexagons and circles.
The focus throw on this lens is very, very long. It's a long tedious turn from 3 ft to infinity. It is difficult to focus handheld. Even on the M3 with the image magnified I was unsure of focus.
Focus is heavily dampened, too. It is smooth but slow. It is possible that my copy needs a regreasing.


ISO 200 - f4 - 100% crop

ISO 800 - f4 - 100% crop
harsh light - corner

ISO 800 - f4 - 75% crop

ISO 800 - f4 - 100% crop

ISO 4000 - f5.6 - 50% crop

ISO 6400 - f2.8 - 75% crop

ISO 800 - f2.8 - 100% crop

ISO 800 - f2.8 - 100% crop -
corner harsh light